I am pleased to issue UCLA’s Staff Appreciation and Recognition (STAR) Plan for FY 2017-2018. The Guidelines are consistent with Staff Policy 34, Incentive and Recognition Award Plans and provide a basis to recognize staff members for their achievements and outstanding contributions to the department, organization, and/or the campus.

STAR Plan eligibility requirements for policy-covered staff (PSS and MSP) are described in the Guidelines. Highlights are noted below:

Awards are in the form of a lump sum and may not exceed 10% of an employee’s base salary or a maximum of $10,000, whichever is less. Organizations may establish lower award limits. (The XSL DOS Code should be used to process all cash awards that fall within the STAR Plan.)

The Chancellor has delegated authority for approval of any awards that exceed $5,000 to the Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost, Deans, Vice Provosts, and Vice Chancellors for employees within their jurisdiction. This authority may not be re-delegated.

Policy-covered staff must be on pay status for at least six months and have successfully completed their probationary period, if applicable; they must be on pay status at the time of the payout to receive an award.

Please note that the Clerical Unit (“CX”) and UCLA Skilled Trades Unit (“K4”) represented employees are eligible for STAR awards under the same terms and conditions that apply to policy-covered employees.

All awards require specific documentation of performance and achievements that are the basis for the award. Only those employees who have achieved a performance rating of “meets expectations” or better are eligible to receive an award. Please utilize the CHR Award Nomination Form for the necessary documentation of award approval.

Campus departments may contact CHR Compensation Services for questions. Guidelines for the UCLA Health System and the Health Sciences are issued separately by Health System Human Resources.